Characteristics of air and water velocity fields during natural convection

Air and water velocity fields have been simulated during natural convection, using a two-dimensional volume of fluid (VOF) model. The results have shown that during unstable thermal stratification, the root-mean-square (RMS) airside velocities are an order of magnitude higher than the RMS waterside velocities, whereas, during the stable thermal stratification, the velocity magnitudes are comparable for air and water sides. Furthermore, the magnitude of the air velocity changed more rapidly with the change in the bulk air–water temperature difference than the water velocity, indicating that the air velocities are more sensitive to the bulk air and water temperature difference than the water velocities. A physical model of the heat and mass transfer across the air–water interface is defined. According to this model, the vortices on the air and water sides play an important role in enhancing the heat and mass transfer. Due to the significance of the flow velocities in the transport process, it has been proposed that the correlations for the heat and mass transfer during natural convection should be improved by incorporating the flow velocity as a parameter.     

Measurement of gas transfer across wind-forced wavy air–water interfaces using laser-induced fluorescence

Optical distortions have previously prevented non-intrusive measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration profiles by Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) to within 200 μm of the air–water interface. It is shown that by careful experimental design, reliable measurements can be obtained within 28 μm of moving air–water interfaces. Consideration of previously unidentified optical distortions in LIF imagery due to non-linear effects is presented that is critical for robust LIF data processing and experimental design. Phase resolved gas flux measurements have now been accomplished along wind forced microscale waves and indicate that the highest mean gas fluxes are located in the wave troughs. The local mean oxygen fluxes as determined by LIF techniques can be reconciled to within 40% of those obtained by bulk measurement in the water. These data provide a new perspective on wind-wave enhancement of low solubility gas transfer across the air–water interface.     

Visualizing near-surface concentration fluctuations using laser-induced fluorescence

A method for observing near-surface fluctuations in pH caused by a water–air flux of carbon dioxide under conditions of ambient atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is developed and tested. Peaks in fluorescence intensity measured as a function of pH and turbulence are shown to be consistent with predictions from a chemical kinetics model of CO₂ exchange. The square root of the frequency of the pH fluctuations scale linearly with independently measured bulk air–water gas transfer velocities in agreement with surface divergence models for air–water gas transfer. These data indicate that the method proposed here is tracking changes in near-surface CO₂ concentrations. This laser-induced fluorescence method can be used to study the air–water exchange of CO₂ in wind-wave tunnels without the need for elevated CO₂ concentrations in the gas phase.     

Turbulence structure in the immediate vicinity of the shear-free air–water interface induced by a deeply submerged jet

 A PIV based technique is developed to perform flow measurements in the vicinity of the air–water interface of a submerged confined jet. Both the interface movement and the velocity field immediately beneath it are measured simultaneously. A detailed turbulence structure in the surface influence region is thus obtained. Flow parameters evaluated without and w.r.t. the interface are quantified and compared against previous works obtained using the conventional Eulerian-based instrumentation which do not account for the interface fluctuation, and checked against analytical model characterising the turbulence close to a assumed flat air–water interface. Received: 15 March 1998/Accepted: 19 October 1998     

Performance of a combined three-hole conductivity probe for void fraction and velocity measurement in air–water flows

The development of a three-hole pressure probe with back-flushing combined with a conductivity probe, used for measuring simultaneously the magnitude and direction of the velocity vector in complex air–water flows, is described in this paper. The air–water flows envisaged in the current work are typically those occurring around the rotors of impulse hydraulic turbines (like the Pelton and Cross-Flow turbines), where the flow direction is not known prior to the data acquisition. The calibration of both the conductivity and three-hole pressure components of the combined probe in a rig built for the purpose, where the probe was placed in a position similar to that adopted for the flow measurements, will be reported. After concluding the calibration procedure, the probe was utilized in the outside region of a Cross-Flow turbine rotor. The experimental results obtained in the present study illustrate the satisfactory performance of the combined probe, and are encouraging toward its use for characterizing the velocity field of other complex air–water flows.     

Experimental assessment of scale effects affecting two-phase flow properties in hydraulic jumps

A hydraulic jump is the rapid transition from a supercritical to subcritical free-surface flow. It is characterised by strong turbulence and air bubble entrainment. New air–water flow properties were measured in hydraulic jumps with partially developed inflow conditions. The data set together with the earlier data of Chanson (Air bubble entrainment in hydraulic jumps. Similitude and scale effects, 119 p, 2006) yielded similar experiments conducted with identical inflow Froude numbers Fr ₁ = 5 and 8.5, but Reynolds numbers between 24,000 and 98,000. The comparative results showed some drastic scale effects in the smaller hydraulic jumps in terms of void fraction, bubble count rate and bubble chord time distributions. The present comparative analysis demonstrated quantitatively that dynamic similarity of two-phase flows in hydraulic jumps cannot be achieved with a Froude similitude. In experimental facilities with Reynolds numbers up to 10⁵, some viscous scale effects were observed in terms of the rate of entrained air and air–water interfacial area.     

Effect of vapor condensation on forced convection heat transfer of moistened gas

The forced convection heat transfer with water vapor condensation is studied both theoretically and experimentally when wet flue gas passes downwards through a bank of horizontal tubes. Extraordinarily, discussions are concentrated on the effect of water vapor condensation on forced convection heat transfer. In the experiments, the air–steam mixture is used to simulate the flue gas of a natural gas fired boiler, and the vapor mass fraction ranges from 3.2 to 12.8%. By theoretical analysis, a new dimensionless number defined as augmentation factor is derived to account for the effect of condensation of relatively small amount of water vapor on convection heat transfer, and a consequent correlation is proposed based on the experimental data to describe the combined convection–condensation heat transfer. Good agreement can be found between the values of the Nusselt number obtained from the experiments and calculated by the correlation. The maximum deviation is within ±6%. The experimental results also shows that the convection–condensation heat transfer coefficient increases with Reynolds number and bulk vapor mass fraction, and is 1∼3.5 times that of the forced convection without condensation.     

Development of a local continuous sampling probe for the equivalence air–fuel ratio measurement. Application to spark ignition engine

This paper is a contribution to the development of an original technique for measuring the in-cylinder equivalence air–fuel ratio. The main objective was to construct an instrument able to furnish instantaneous values of hydrocarbon concentration for many consecutive cycles at a definite location, especially at the spark plug location. The probe is based on a hot-wire-like apparatus, but involves catalytic oxidation on the wire surface in order to be sensitive to the hydrocarbon concentration. In this paper, we present the different steps needed to develop and validate the probe. The first step focuses on the geometric configuration to simplify as much as possible the mass transfer phenomena on the wire. The second step is a parametric study to evaluate the sensitivity, confidence and lifetime of the wire. By physical analysis, we propose a relationship between the electrical signal and the air–fuel equivalence ratio of the sampled gases. The third step is the application of the probe to in-cylinder motored engine measurements, which confirms the ability of the technique to characterise, quantitatively, the homogeneity of the air–fuel mixture, especially during the compression stroke. This work points out that the global sensitivity is estimated at 4 V per unit of equivalence air–fuel ratio and the response time is estimated at about 400 μs. The equivalence air–fuel ratio range is from pure air to 1.2. Experiments show that it is necessary to calibrate the system before use because of the existence of multiple catalysis states. The probe presents advantages associated with its simplicity, its low cost and its direct engine application without any modifications. Received: 1 November 2000 / Accepted: 30 May 2001     

Turbulent time and length scale measurements in high-velocity open channel flows

In high-velocity open channel flows, the measurements of air–water flow properties are complicated by the strong interactions between the flow turbulence and the entrained air. In the present study, an advanced signal processing of traditional single- and dual-tip conductivity probe signals is developed to provide further details on the air–water turbulent level, time and length scales. The technique is applied to turbulent open channel flows on a stepped chute conducted in a large-size facility with flow Reynolds numbers ranging from 3.8E+5 to 7.1E+5. The air water flow properties presented some basic characteristics that were qualitatively and quantitatively similar to previous skimming flow studies. Some self-similar relationships were observed systematically at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. These included the distributions of void fraction, bubble count rate, interfacial velocity and turbulence level at a macroscopic scale, and the auto- and cross-correlation functions at the microscopic level. New correlation analyses yielded a characterisation of the large eddies advecting the bubbles. Basic results included the integral turbulent length and time scales. The turbulent length scales characterised some measure of the size of large vortical structures advecting air bubbles in the skimming flows, and the data were closely related to the characteristic air–water depth Y ₉₀. In the spray region, present results highlighted the existence of an upper spray region for C > 0.95–0.97 in which the distributions of droplet chord sizes and integral advection scales presented some marked differences with the rest of the flow.     

Experimental study of the gas flow in an air-blasted liquid sheet

An experimental study has been performed to improve the understanding of the initial air–liquid interaction in the near field of an air-blasted breaking water sheet. For the first time, planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) has been used to visualize the air-flow field, seeding the air streams with acetone vapor. Mie scattering from the liquid sheet, together with the acetone fluorescence signal has enabled simultaneous determination of the instantaneous water sheet location and the air-flow structures. The two-phase flow visualization has revealed detachment of the air boundary layer over the air–water interface behind the zones of strong curvature. The pressure field induced by these vortices has been identified as a cause of the enhanced sheet flapping and the instability growth. Received: 30 October 2000/Accepted: 29 March 2001     

In situ force-balance tensiometry

 Although a fundamental physical parameter, surface tension is difficult to measure. Common tensiometry inaccuracy comes from failure to control air–liquid–solid contact conditions, or account for liquid meniscus geometry and buoyancy corrections. This paper describes an in situ tensiometry technique, based on withdrawal of a thin-walled tube from the liquid interface, that enforces a known air–liquid–solid contact condition. This technique can be pursued at any level of experimental hygiene. Experimental results for filtered tap water, an alcohol–water solution, and a surfactant–water solution show that results repeatable to three significant digits are obtained with modest effort for a variety of geometrical parameters. Received: 7 October 1997/Accepted: 23 April 1998     

Measurement of multiple gas-bubble velocities in gas–liquid flows using hot-film anemometry

A dual-probe hot-film anemometry technique has been developed to measure multiple gas-bubble velocities corresponding to different gas-bubble size groups in air–water flows. A data reduction scheme using wavelet analysis combined with a phase-detection technique is used to discriminate the hot-film anemometer output signals into signals corresponding to different bubble size groups. The phase and bubble size discrimination is based on the magnitude and time derivative of the signal, and the streamwise length of the gas bubbles. A cross-correlation between the discriminated signals from the two probes yields an average time difference of arrival of the gas bubbles at the two sensor locations. The velocities are estimated from the distance between the sensors and the time difference of arrival. The mean bubble size is estimated from the chord length distribution. Measurements performed in vertical-up air–water slug flow show the technique to be a viable method for obtaining bubble velocity and size information. The velocity measurements from the hot-film anemometry are corroborated using a high-speed quantitative flow visualization system. Received: 22 December 1999/Accepted: 8 May 2001     

Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in channel with V corrugated plates

A detailed numerical study is carried out to investigate fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in a channel with heated V corrugated upper and lower plates. The parameters studied include the Reynolds number (Re = 2,000–5,500), angles of V corrugated plates (θ = 20°, 40°, 60°), and constant heat fluxs (q″ = 580, 830, 1,090 W/m²). Numerical results have been validated using the experimented data reported by Naphon, and a good agreement has been found. The angles of V corrugated plates (θ) and the Reynolds number are demonstrated to significantly affect the fluid flow and the heat transfer rate. Increasing the angles of V corrugated plates can make the heat transfer performance become better. The increasing Reynolds number leads to a more complex fluid flow and heat transfer rate. The numerical calculations with a non-equilibrium wall function have a better accuracy than with a standard wall function for solving high Reynolds numbers or complex flow problems.     

Mass transport effect on the heat transfer coefficient during boiling of multicomponent mixture

In this work a simplified calculation method taking into account the effect of mass transport on the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) during boiling of multicomponent mixture has been elaborated. The calculation results were compared with own experimental data for ternary system methanol–isopropanol–water and Grigoriev data [1] (acetone–methanol–water). The experiments were performed in different hydrodynamic conditions such as: pool boiling and liquid evaporation at the free surface of the falling film. The experimental data covered wide range of heat fluxes from 6 to 30 kW/m² in the case of liquid evaporation from the falling film and from 30 to 240 kW/m² for pool boiling. The analysis of the results indicates that the mass transfer resistance in the liquid phase caused a significant reduction of experimental value HTC in comparison to so-called ideal HTC.     

A backlighted imaging technique for particle size measurements in two-phase flows

 An imaging technique that uses backlighting has been developed to measure drop sizes in annular two-phase flows with small concentrations of drops in the gas phase. Advantages over conventional photography are realized in that data collection and analysis times are shortened considerably, and consistent unbiased results can be expected. A magnification of 1.9 was used to measure drops above 50 μm. A drop size distribution was obtained for an air–water system as a superficial gas velocity of 30 m/s and a liquid flow of 20 g/s. The data are used to substantiate a theory for the rate of deposition. Received: 6 February 1997/Accepted: 3 February 1998     

Natural convection in composite systems with phase change materials

In this study, we carried out a numerical simulation of transient heat transfer in a composite passive system consisting of air–phase change material–air, arranged as a rectangular enclosure. The vertical boundaries of the enclosure are isothermal and the horizontal ones adiabatic. The enthalpy formulation with a fixed grid is used to study the process of phase change with liquid–solid interface zone controlled by natural convection. The flow in this zone is simulated by a model based on the Darcy porous medium. The numerical solution of the mathematical model is done using finite difference–control volume algorithm. The influence of the geometrical and thermal parameters is studied. It is found that subcooling coefficient is the most important parameter influencing heat transfer, and for a given subcooling, there is an optimum phase change partition thickness.     

Convective mass transfer across fluid interfaces in straight angular pores

Steady convective mass transfer to or from fluid interfaces in pores of angular cross-section is theoretically investigated. This situation is relevant to a variety of mass transport process in porous media, including the fate of residual non-aqueous phase liquid ganglia and gas bubbles. The model incorporates the essential physics of capillarity and solute mass transfer by convection and diffusion in corner fluid filaments. The geometry of the corner filaments, characterized by the fluid–fluid contact angle, the corner half-angle and the interface meniscus curvature, is accounted for. Boundary conditions of zero surface shear (‘perfect-slip’) and infinite surface shear (‘no-slip’) at the fluid–fluid interface are considered. The governing equations for laminar flow within the corner filament and convective diffusion to or from the fluid–fluid interface are solved using finite-element methods. Flow computations are verified by comparing the dimensionless resistance factor and hydraulic conductance of corner filaments against recent numerical solutions by Patzek and Kristensen (J. Colloid Interface Sci 236, 305–317 2001). Novel results are obtained for the average effluent concentration as a function of flow geometry and pore-scale Peclet number. These results are correlated to a characteristic corner length and local pore-scale Peclet number using empirical equations appropriate for implementation in pore network models. Finally, a previously published “2D-slit” approximation to the problem at hand is checked and found to be in considerable error.     

Gas transfer at the air–water interface: experiments with different turbulence forcing mechanisms

Most environmentally important gases (such as oxygen or carbon dioxide) have low solubility. The transfer process of such gases across the air–water interface is controlled by molecular diffusion and turbulence, concentrated within a very thin layer in the water side. A challenge for a better understanding of the problem is to be able to elucidate the transport processes happening within this thin layer. We used non-invasive measurement techniques to study the interaction between the gas transfer process and the hydrodynamic condition in the water phase with two different turbulence forcing mechanisms, namely grid-stirred and buoyant-convective turbulence. The experimental setup for the turbulence generation and the measurement techniques are described. The different dominating turbulent transport mechanisms of the two cases were discussed, and a comparison of the different measured scales between the two cases is also presented.     

Bubbly flow measurements in hydraulic jumps with small inflow Froude numbers

The transition from supercritical to subcritical open channel flow is characterised by a strong dissipative mechanism called a hydraulic jump. A hydraulic jump is turbulent and associated with the development of large-scale turbulence and air entrainment. In the present study, some new physical experiments were conducted to characterise the bubbly flow region of hydraulic jumps with relatively small Froude numbers (2.4 < Fr₁ < 5.1) and relatively large Reynolds numbers (6.6 × 10⁴ < Re < 1.3 × 10⁵). The shape of the time-averaged free-surface profiles was well defined and the longitudinal profiles were in agreement with visual observations. The turbulent free-surface fluctuation profiles exhibited a peak of maximum intensity in the first half of the hydraulic jump roller, and the fluctuations exhibited some characteristic frequencies typically below 3 Hz. The air–water flow properties showed two characteristic regions: the shear layer region in the lower part of the flow and an upper free-surface region above. The air–water shear layer region was characterised by local maxima in terms of void fraction and bubble count rate. Other air–water flow characteristics were documented including the distributions of interfacial velocity and turbulence intensity. The probability distribution functions (PDF) of bubble chord time showed that the bubble chord times exhibited a broad spectrum, with a majority of bubble chord times between 0.5 and 2 ms. An analysis of the longitudinal air–water structure highlighted a significant proportion of bubbles travelling within a cluster structure.